Ask Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says the city's next gun buyback will be different. Last month, the city's first buyback program in 20 years took in more than 700 pistols and rifles (and a missile launcher tube used for training). It also saw an impromptu gun show unfold downtown as private buyers snapped up guns for themselves. Mayor McGinn joins us in the studio to talk gun laws. We’ll also discuss his decision to shut down the Seattle Police Department's drone program and why surveillance cameras along Alki in West Seattle won’t be turned on just yet. Have a question for the mayor? Have a question for the mayor? Call us at 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org.

Also this hour: Publicola's Josh Feit catches us up on what to watch for in Olympia this week as the state legislature gets down to business on the budget.

We talk with Merrick Bobb, Seattle's new federally appointed independent police monitor. He began working in the field of police accountability 20 years ago, following the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. In Seattle, he'll help implement an overhaul of the SPD’s use-of-force procedures and establish guidelines for citizen contacts and stops.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn put an end to a controversial program where unmanned miniature helicopters equipped with cameras would be used to fight crime. Critics had privacy concerns about police surveillance. The timing of Mayor McGinn's decision could become an issue in his re-election bid.